Ilhan Omar part of 'systemic' antisemitism, a 'civil rights issue of epic proportions': Human rights lawyer

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Eric Shawn: A call for a Jewish civil rights movement

The Lawfare Project executive director Brooke Goldstein on the shocking rise of antisemitic attacks in America

Human rights attorney Brooke Goldstein blasted Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Sunday for being part of "systemic antisemitism."

"There is an alarming rise of Jew hatred to the point where it has become systemic … I use the word systemic for a reason because Jew hatred is no longer on the fringes of society – it has become systemic. [It comes from] politicians like Ilhan Omar, who accuse Jewish Americans of having dual loyalty," the Lawfare Project director, Jewish civil rights legal arm, said on "Fox News Live." 

"This is coming from someone in the United States right now in a position of power," she added.

Goldstein, including some of Omar's Democratic colleagues, view the congresswoman's past statements on Israel to cross a line into antisemitism. Her critics say she leveled a "dual loyalty" charge against American Jews. According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, whose working definition was adopted by the U.S. State Department, antisemitism includes, "Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations."

U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., holds a "Medicare-for-all" town hall with other lawmakers on July 18, 2019, in Minneapolis.  (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP)

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A resolution was put forward in March 2019 after Omar said, seemingly referring to America's Middle East ally (Israel), 

"I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country … I want to ask why is it OK for me to talk about the influence of the NRA, of fossil fuel industries or Big Pharma and not talk about a powerful lobbying group that is influencing policies?"

Other remarks by Omar that have received blow back include when she implied the U.S.-Israel relationship was "all about the Benjamins baby," and in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper Omar was criticized for appearing to suggest that Jewish members of Congress were not equally interested in justice. 

Israelis rally in Jerusalem and call for the release of Israeli soldiers and civilians being held by Hamas in Gaza, on May 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

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Taliban militants shot and killed a pregnant police officer in front of her children and husband, the BBC reports. (WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Omar has also compared the U.S. and Israel to the Taliban. 

Brooke added that rising antisemitism is a sign of radicalism gaining its steam in America. 

"There are governments, foreign governments like Qatar, which is the second-largest sponsor of terrorism around the world that are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into our institutions of higher education – they're not only indoctrinating towards Jew hatred, but they're also indoctrinating towards anti-Americanism and anti-democracy," she said. "And the saying is – 'Jews are the canary in the coal miners' tunnel.' So it is really important to focus on the rise of Jew-hatred because it is a symptom of further radicalization in the community at large."

People wear Jewish skullcaps during a demonstration against an antisemitic attack in Berlin on April 25, 2018. Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman has stressed Germany's responsibility to ensure security for all Jews wearing skullcaps anywhere in the country without having to fear an antisemitic attack. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

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She continued, "The FBI has recently reported that Jewish people are three times more likely to experience a hate crime than any other ethnic group. That's 2.6 times more likely than the black community and 2.2 times more likely than the Muslim community. And over one-third of Jewish Americans have personally experienced a hate crime an antisemitic hate crime. These are alarming numbers, and people will like to pretend as though this is a political issue – that this has to do with Israel – [but] it [does] not."

"This is a civil rights issue of epic proportions," she said.